Darius explains Danesh name change

Former Pop Idol star Darius has explained why he has switched his surname from Danesh to Campbell.

The 'Colourblind' singer, who originally found fame on ITV1 reality series Popstars, admitted that he was inspired to change his name by his 78-year-old grandad Colin Campbell.

"I've reached a stage in my life where I ask, 'Who am I?'" he told the Daily Record. "Before Christmas, I visited my grandad. He is originally from Greenock and he sang 'The Green Oak Tree' to me. He sang it in such a way it brought tears to my eyes. He was in tears at the end of it as well.

"He said to me, 'I am proud of you. No matter where you are in the world, you'll always be a Campbell. You'll always be a Scot and you'll always be my grandson'. At that point, I thought, 'I feel like Darius Campbell'."

He added: "That's the name on my passport. It's the name on my credit card. Back in the day when I was introduced as Darius Danesh, I didn't ever have the choice. Someone at the studio in England dropped the Campbell without asking me.

"I am Scottish. I am proud of my heritage and I don't want to lose that. We live in a world that is becoming very Americanised. Everything is a bit of a jumble and knowing where you are from is very important."

Darius is currently taking part in new ITV1 reality series Popstar To Operastar and will apparently perform 'Nessun Dorma' on tonight's launch show.